Refs 6 - Gateshead 0

The scene was set for a great day, a light sprinkling of snow, 140 members enjoying the club Christmas lunch, the trabant fully serviced, tuned up,polished and ready to go with all hopes high that by about 3:45pm it would be traded in for a newer model.

So, how many refs does it take to cancel a game? The answer...... none until the game actually kicks off. On Saturday we had another debacle like last year with Alnwick and Consett when the referee thought the pitch was fine, but the opposition cited health and safety issues and refused to play.

The match ref Tony Parlett inspected the pitch and declared it safe to play, he then sought the advice from five other referees at the game, including two RFU qualified National League touch judges and they all agreed the pitch was fine. (I wonder what the collective noun for refs is?). 

The cynics amongst you might think, perhaps Gateshead didn’t have a full strength team? I couldn’t possibly comment, all I would say is that when the game is due to be replayed on 6^th February 2010, Park should have Shawsy and Ponts back, so they may wish they had played after all.

Never mind, the lunch was great….. Bring on Rockcliff on Boxing Day. Lets hope all this snow goes by then.